
Gass. 
Book. 



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ABRAHAM LINCOLN 



THE LESSONS TAUGHT BY HIS LIFE 

nn 

THE OBLIGATIONS IMPOSED BY HIS DEATH. 



AN ADDRESS, 



DELIVERED AT > 

X 

THE GLADES," FREDERICK COUNTY, MARYLAND. APRIL 23d, 1 65. ► 

X 

I 



L E W IS H . S T E I N E R , 



FREDERICK CITY, MD. 



I' II I LA l> E I. I'll I A : 

JAS. B. RODGER8, PRINTER, 52 Wl> M NORTB SIXTH STKKKT. 

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ABRAHAM LINCOLN: 



THE LESSONS TAUGHT BY HIS LIFE 



THE OBLIGATIONS IMPOSED BY HIS DEATH. 



AN ADDRESS, 



DELIVERED AT 



THE GLADES," FREDERICK COUNTY, MARYLAND, APRIL 23d, 1865, 



BY 



LEWIS H. 8TEINER 

FREDERICK CITY, MD, 



PHILADELPHIA: 

JAB. B. RODGERS, PRINTER, 52 AND 54 NORTH SIXTH STREET. 

1865. 



ABRAHAM LIXCOLN 



Unalloyed happiness finds no home on earth. Grief quickly follows 
joy, and the soul, sickened at such transition, is, at times, almost over- 
whelmed with despair. But to the Christian — both grief and joy arc the 
gifts of a heavenly Father. Behind the frowning cloud there is the pater- 
nal care and solicitude of One who cares for His people, and whose ways, 
however dark and mysterious they may appear, are nevertheless the ways 
of Infinite Wisdom. Out of the darkness and gloom will come again bright 
and joyful scenes; and joy will follow grief once more. And so it must 
be in this vale of tears, for, to use the words of a Scotch writer, " Grief and 
joy, unlike as they appear in face and figure, are nevertheless sisters, and 
by fate and destiny, their verra lives depend on ane and the same eternal 
law. Were Grief banished frae this life, Joy would soon dwine awa into 
the resemblance o' her departed Soror — aye, her face would soon be whiter 
and mair woe-begone, and they would soon be buried, side by side, in ae 
grave." And this transition is but part of that preparation which is wisely 
ordained for man, in order to fit him for an abode where tears shall no 
longer have a place, but all shall be perennial joy. 

This uncertain duration of joy and happiness is not confined to individ- 
uals or families. Communities, states, and nations are also exposed to its 
perturbing effects. The mysterious ways of Providence are manifested in 
them as well as in the lives of the humblest of their citizens. From the 
height of prosperity they may be plunged into the depth of misery and 
degradation ; or the fair record of their honor and probity may be rendered 
as black as night by the crimes of some who should have labored to uphold 
.such record. From the jubilant outcries of joyous hearts and happy souls 
they may be compelled to turn away, and, iu bitter sorrow, to pour forth 
wail after wail, each striving to give expression to that grief which, indeed, 
beggars expression. Then is heard the voice, as in Rainah in former days. 
"lamentation and bitter weeping; llachael weeping for her children, re- 
fusing to be comforted for her children, because they were not," But 
there is a balm even for such wounded hearts, even the word of the Lord : 
"Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for thy work 
shall be rewarded." 

Our nation has just passed through a transition such as I have described. 
Four years ago a formal outbreak against law and authority occurred, of 
such magnitude that our minds, unaccustomed to thoughts of war, could 



hardly grasp its details. The degenerate descendants of an aristocracy, 
that once proudly claimed respect on account of its virtues and valorous 
deeds, had nursed so carefully the idea of their own importance and su- 
periority in all that marks the true gentleman — had learned to despise the 
man of low degree, no matter how earnestly and honestly he might strive 
to raise himself, intellectually and socially, — and had for years fretted 
under the laws which the growing power of the people was wisely enact- 
ing for the good of the land. These haughty and intolerant men asso- 
ciated with them another class, alike haughty and intolerant, but from a 
different cause. Sprung from obscurity, some had gained wealth and po- 
sition by honest efforts and hard labor, but had then assumed an air of 
superiority over those with whom their early years had been spent, treat- 
ing contemptuously the very class it should have been their greatest hap- 
piness to have aided; others, by fraud and dishonesty, had simply gained 
wealth, and, feeling how uncertain position, based upon money alone, was 
in a republic, affected to despise the honest mechanic and the deserving 
laborer, who, in reality, may have possessed more excellencies of head and 
heart than they could even appreciate. There were others, fretful spirits, 
restless under law of any kind, — Ishmaelites, full of guile, — the scum of 
cities and country towns, too indolent to work, too proud to beg, but not 
too honest to violate law in any and every form. Of such materials was a 
grand conspiracy formed. Years were required in its formation, and all 
the ingenuity of the diplomatist, with the appeals to interest and personal 
advancement, that the Evil One always holds forth as inducements for en- 
listment in His service, were employed to gather into the conspiracy 
other men, whose names and characters had never before been stained by 
the slightest dishonor. In the fulness of its time this conspiracy burst 
upon the nation. At first, those who loved their country and the starry 
ensign of its honor, considered the proclamations and early utterances of 
the conspirators as mere vaporings, — the empty declamations of thought- 
less penny-a-liners or briefless barristers. But the storm clouds became 
thicker and darker, the atmosphere was saturated with the unwholesome 
breathings of treason, and finally it was received as a fixed fact that ' re- 
sistance to the powers that be' was fully inaugurated. 

Then was manifested that love of law and order, that loyalty to nation- 
ality, that sense of responsibility to God and our forefathers for the govern- 
ment which had protected us so many long years in our peaceful duties as 
citizens, — that disregard of self and family, — that high-toned patriotism, 
which filled our armies with men of all ranks and professions. Throwing 
aside the implements of agriculture, the tools of trade, and the books of 
the student, these extemporized soldiers began a war of defence. They 
felt that it would have been the vilest ingratitude to have hesitated to as- 
sume any duties that their country imposed on them in her hour of need. 
Every family, with loyal hearts, contributed in some way or other to the 
operations then deemed necessary. Armies were formed and instructed. 
Providence, when it was feared that there was no military talent adequate 
to the mighty problem, raised up for us, where we least expected it, wise, 
prudent, skilful and accomplished officers. 

While our preparations were going on, those of the insurgents were not 
neglected. The very spirit of unrest and defiance made them at first more 
at home in war and warlike matters. Deluding the entire population of 



the States to which they belonged, with the idea that the war was aggi 
sive on the part of the Federal Government, they coaxed, deceived and 
cajoled them into a belief that they must seize arms with them for the 
conservation of their own rights. And when suet arts failed (there were 
some men that would not bow to Belial, no matter in what fur::: he was 
presented), then force was employed, and a reign of terror prevailed 
throughout their borders. 

At first the love of peace and quiet so filled the hearts of loyal men, that, 
at times, they were almost prepared to say to the insurgents, " Take your 
course: leave us, if you do not appreciate the heritage left you by our com- 
mon forefathers." But to such weak hearts courage came, when the calm 
resolution, the earnest determination, and the high resolve of the aation's 
Standard-Bearer was seen. When all seemed dark, not a ray of sunshine. 
or even the faintest flicker of a star could be seen penetrating the political 
firmament, he stood undisturbed. He had sworn in the presence of the 
nation "to faithfully execute the office of President of the. United States," 
and, to the best of his ability, "to preserve, protect, and defend the Con- 
stitution of the United States," and had called Clod to witness the oath. 
This oath he intended to keep, even though it should cost him his lii'e. 
He feared to violate an oath,— a rare fear in an age when perjury hid he- 
come a common vice in the land. 

Oh, those four years of war, desolation, and misery! They are filled 
with a history of ruin and destruction. Millions on millions of property 
destroyed, fertile districts laid waste, thousands of homes desolated, and 
tens of thousands of fire-sides deprived of those who constituted all that 
made life dear to the bereaved. Oh, those terrible battle-fields, covered 
with the mangled corpses of thousands,— the air, for miles around, tainted 
with the sickening stench of putrefaction and sulphurous fumes! The 
scenes of suffering" and pain amid crowded Hospitals filled with the frag- 
mentary bodies of martyrs in a nation's defence! Some of us have seen 
these so frequently that we have almost forgotten how to weep,— but the 
scenes have been so indelibly photographed on the tablets of memory, that 
a century of peace cannot efface them. The land was becoming one vast 
Aceldama, and many a fertile region converted into a horrible Golgotha. 

The earnest determination of the President, the patriotic valor of the 
army whose soldiers "gave their lives that the nation might live," the 
military genius of commanders whose knowledge of the science of war had 
been obtained in the field, and, above all, the propitious smiles of Provi- 
dence,— all these at length began to secure victory alter victory lie 
space occupied by the rebellion became smaller and smaller. E inally the 
seat of the rebellion falls, and the ablest military officer of the insurgent 
army, yielding to the stern logic of war, surrenders and oilers to aid in the 
establishment of peace. The clouds have nearly all been driven Iron, the 
sky, the sun shines once more serenely, and peace— fair, white-winged 
peace with angelic grace is seen flying towards es with countless blessings 
in her train,— a strong government, liberty to every man in the nation to 
do his devoir for God and his native land,— and there, floating high over 
our heads, with her beauteous stripes the azure field of our country s [lag. 
every star in place, and all bound together by a law that will allow them 
endless activity without possibility of iude contact or interference ! 

Was not all this cause for joy? No good citizen likes war, and the 



6 

nation had undertaken it, as a man uses a weapon when attacked by the 
assassin, to save his life. The good news was quickly carried through the 
length and breadth of our land. Young hearts beat with joyous exulta- 
tion; old hearts grew young again. The bells rang out their merry peal-. 
the wild huzzas of an overjoyed people mingled with the clear strains of 
national airs as martial and civic bands joined in the celebration of the 
coming event. And that flag, once disgraced within Sumter's walls, was 
raised, amid honor and rejoicing, proudly over a region re-claimed from 
rebellion. Such an intensity of happiness is rarely the lot of any people. 
And no one, who was permitted the privilege of participating in the re- 
joicing that followed the events just described, can ever forget how the 
patriotic longings of the people then found expression. In the prospect 
of peace not only was resentment laid aside, but fraternal love for the rank 
and file of the conspirators began to manifest itself throughout the laud. 
Victorious, we could afford to be magnanimous to those who repented of 
their crimes, having been deluded or forced into practical treason by the 
leaders of the Rebellion. The Commander-in-Chief of the Army had 
granted terms of unprecedented liberality, and the President had shown him- 
self free from malevolent feelings towards those who had for four years cul- 
tivated the bitterest hatred and the most malignant feelings towards him. 
On the evening of the 11th of April, in an address to his fellow-citizens, 
he spoke of the surrender of the principal insurgent army giving "hope of 
a righteous and speedy peace, whose joyous expressions cannot be restrained," 
and reminded his hearers that "in the midst of this, however, He, from 
whom all blessings flow, must not be forgotten." 

But, on Friday night, while seated with the sharer of his toils and sor- 
rows, the blow is struck by the assassin's hand which closes the career of 
this great and noble-hearted man. So paralyzing was the deed that brave 
men were rendered, for the instant, powerless, and the magnitude of the 
crime was so appalling that the infamous perpetrator made his escape from 
those who would have perilled their own lives to have saved that of their 
President. — 

"0 horror! horror! horror! Tongue nor heart 
Cannot conceive nor name thee ! 
Confusion now hath made his master-piece! 
Most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope 
The Lord's anointed temple, and stole thence 
The life o' the building." 

The bells now toll forth the sorrowful knell of mourning, the sombre 
drapery of grief bedecks public and private buildings, flags are furled that 
had been floating proudly to the breeze, and one deep, impenetrable gloom 
gathers thick and fast over the hearts of all loyal citizens throughout the 
land. In the hour of triumph — when law and order were to be restored, 
when (lie enrapturing prospects of peace, all ablaze with the prismatic 
colors of the rainbow of promise, were widely extended before the patriot's 
eye, — the Standard-Bearer of the country, who had firmly stood unmoved 
in times that tried men's souls when an almost superhuman energy was 
necessary to resist the tide of treason, — the patriot and the lover of his 
country — is stiffened in the grasp of death. Victory seemed of no value, 
triumph empty, and success but a mocking phantom. Then was it first 



known, how dear to the hearts of the people the late President had become, 
how his life was associated with the life of the nation, and his death robbed 
every family of one as near and dear to it as any of those embraced in the 
ties of blood. Said a simple-hearted, honest, God-fearing, I Ihristian woman, 
whose steps are now fast tending towards the grave, "I cried when I beard 
it, because it seemed as if I had lost a father." Yes! the nation has lost 
a father, whose every thought and prayer was devoted to its interests and 
welfare, — self-sacrificing beyond example in a selfish age. No one knew 
how great the reciprocal love existing between people and President, until 
the murderous act deprived us of the foremost man of the times. And, 
whereas, we have delighted to call Washington the father of his country, 
it is now our pride to place by his side, as of equal glory and renown, and 
equally endeared to the American people — the name of ABRAHAM Lin- 
coln. George Washington, under God's protection, led the American 
nation out of the stormy trials and persecutions of foreign injustice into 
the pathway of prosperity and renown: Abraham Lincoln, under the 
protection of the same God — the God of our forefathers — led the nation 
through intestine troubles, that threatened to efface all that made it great 
and capable for good, and taught its people to understand how great their 
birth-right and how sacredly it should be guarded. The former died in 
peace, surrounded by his family at Mt. Vernon, — the latter fell a victim 
to the murderous hate of wicked patricides. Had such an act been pre- 
dicted to us, we should have felt like using Shakspeare's words — as we 
scouted at the prediction, — 

This Duncan hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been 
So clear in his great office, that his virtues 
Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against 
The deep damnation of his taking oil'." 

But, my friends, I must hasten on. Let us now see who was this man, 
Abraham Lincoln, whose death has made a nation mouru, and each loyal 
mau feel as though he had lost a father. 

Abraham Lincoln was born in Hardin county, Kentucky, February 
12th, 1809, of parents who struggled honestly with poverty and toil for 
the support of their family. While the future President was quite a boy 
his parents removed to Indiana, and there, amid the wilds of primeval for- 
ests, a log hut was constructed, and a home created for the Pioneer's fami- 
ly. We know of but few incidents of his childhood : it is probable from 
these that the child's hands were employed to assist the father in his daily 
toil, while his mother taught him to read, using God's Holy Book as the 
text-book in her teachings. Although he lost his mother when only ten 
years of age, yet her teachings constituted the seed that, under the vigor- 
rous influences of Western life, developed eventually into those startling quali- 
ties of head and heart which gained him not only the respect, but the love 
of all with whom he was subsequently^thrown into contact. How many of 
the world's great men have owed all that was noble and praiseworthy in 
their future lives to the instructions received at a mother's knee! Oh! 
mothers of this nation, how great a responsibility has been imposed upon 
you by Providence ! On your quiet and unobtrusive labors the hopes and 
future glory of our land depeud. See to it, that you implant principles of 



8 

morality, honesty and religion, with love of country and devotion to its 
rights, in the bosoms of your little ones. Pray for strength to accomplish 
the tasks assigned you. Yours, not the labors of the rougher walks of life, 
not the attractive honors of the bar, or the pulpit, or the tented field, — 
but the more glorious duties of preparing those who shall go forth with 
stout hearts and honest souls to undertake all such labors. 

In a cabin, where a school had been opened by one of the settlers, Mr. 
Lincoln pursued his studies in additional branches of knowledge. He 
was faithful and laborious as a student, — a boy of but few books, but tho- 
roughly acquainted with those that could be procured. His mental train- 
ing was accomplished amid such literature as Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, 
".tEsop's Fables," "Weenis' Life of Washington," and a campaign life of 
that other great commoner, Henry Clay. These were books calculated to 
develop hard common sense, disregard for ornaments of style, and love of 
right and honor. They aided in the formation of a character which chal- 
lenged respect from all, as rugged in its honesty and unwavering in its 
love of truth. 

Trained in all the work of the farm, he acquired a muscular frame and 
Herculean constitution, that seemed adequate to all the work that might 
fall to his lot in life. At times employed as a clerk in a country store, or 
in boating on the Mississippi, he acquired a reputation as a youth of pro- 
mising business talent. At the age of twenty-one, he removed with his 
father to Illinois, and two years afterwards was made captain of a company 
of volunteers, raised for service in the Black Hawk war. Here, his biog- 
rapher tells us, "He was an efficient, faithful officer, watchful of his men, 
and prompt in the discharge of his duty, while his courage and patriotism 
shrank from no clangers or hardships." 

His fellow-citizens send him to the State Legislature in 1834, and two 
years afterwards he obtains a license to practise law, and opens an office 
in Springfield. He was three several times elected to the legislature, and 
in 1847 was one of the Whig representatives in the National Congress. 
From this time to the year 1860 he was engaged in the business of his 
profession, and actively interested in the various political movements of 
the day. His reputation was, however, mostly confined to the West, and 
but comparatively little was known of him in the East. His nomination 
to the Presidency was made in 1860, and was followed by an election to 
the highest position in our gift. Naturally, all felt anxious with reference 
to the future, when a new leader was placed at the head of the na- 
tion. The prayers of the good and the loyal were freely offered up to 
the Most High, that He might look with favor upon him, imbue him 
"with the spirit of wisdom, truth and mercy, and so rule his heart, and 
bless his endeavors, that law and order, justice and peace, might every 
where prevail." 

Then the plotted treason of decades of years appeared fully ripe for aetion. 
A government, composed of the people, based upon a constitution spring- 
ing from the people — the whole people, was that which he was called upon 
to administer. Fragmentary portions of it, more alive, selfishly alive to 
their own interests than to those of the whole, demanded the right to break 
the bond uniting all together, and thus put in jeopardy the lives and dear- 
est interests of every one. Treason stalked abroad through the land, but 
Lincoln, while imploring thought and reflection on the part of those dis- 



posed to rebel, still stood firm amid the tumult of the times. Said he in 

his inaugural: ' L In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrj n. and tint 

in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The Government will not 
assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the as 
sors. You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government, 
while 1 have the most solemn one to 'preserve, protect, and defend' it. 
I am loth to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must nol lie 
enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds 
of affection. The mystic cord of memory, stretching from every battle-field 
and patriot grave to every living heart and hearth-stone all over this broad 
land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely 
they will be, by the better angels of our nature." 

The President's firmness gave vigor and strength to the national cause. 
His term of office was one of the most exciting character. The war was 
undertaken for the conservation of the government, but loyal men were 
very much divided on points that seemed to be of minor importance. In 
its course, the necessity of doing many things, which would not have been 
thought of at first, forced itself upon the nation. The Union was to be 
saved, and every thing that interfered with this must be given up. This 
principle Mr. Lincoln laid down, and it was endorsed as sound doctrine 
by the loyal men of the land. The life of the nation was at stake, and 
whatever interfered with it must be abolished. There could be no com- 
promise with wrong for the sake of right. "To secure apeace that should 
be lasting, or of any value at all, the eternal principles of justice must 
alone be consulted." This was high ground, but it was the only true 
ground to be occupied by the armies of the United States — a nation con- 
structed on the theory of furnishing to every one of its citizens life, liberty, 
and the pursuit of happiness. The war had thus an educational influence 
on the loyal people of the country, — they learned to occupy a higher plane 
on the broad field of history. 

The deadly struggles that ensued between the defenders of right and 
the rebels, were more numerous than in any war of modern times. The 
whole land underwent a baptism in the blood of patriots, and the dear 
flag, carried through the fires of many a bloody fray, became an ensign of 
meaning 'to every citizen. And the survivors felt how precious that had 
become, for which such sacrifices were made. But no one felt this more 
keenly than the Chief Magistrate himself. In his speech at the dedication 
of the Cemetery at Gettysburg (Nov. 19, 1863,) he said : " The brave men. 
living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it (the ground \ far 
above our power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor Inn-; 
remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. 
It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work 
which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather 
for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us; that from 
these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which 
they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve 
that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, 
shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government ';/' the people, by 
the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth." 

In Mr. Lincoln there was a singular union of some of the brightest 
characteristics of the true man. A word as to these : 



10 

I. HoTiesty of purpose, and. freedom from deceit. This, to our infinite 
shame, he it spoken, is a rare virtue at the present day. The age had so 
tolerated pretence and meaningless show in high places, that the contrast at 
first was striking. Here was a man who knew not how to lie, — a curious 
characteristic, and one making him unfit lor diplomacy and the intrigues of 
State, says the diplomatist of the old school. But where the need of deceit 
and intrigue when one loves truth, and is only anxious for right? Hence, 
the representatives of foreign governments respected this man, because they 
could confide in him. However much they might differ with him, they 
could rely on his position, when once defined, as the result of an honest 
belief that he was right. 

II. Disregard of self There was a wonderful absence of self-love or 
egotism in this man. He delighted to advance others — to lend a helping- 
hand to merit wherever found, and whenever prosperous results attended 
military operations, to attribute such to those who planned them. In his 
last speech, when speaking of the successes of the campaign, these words 
were employed: "I, myself, was near the front, and had the high pleasure 
of transmitting much of the good news to you. But no part of the honor 
for plan or execution is mine. To Lieut. Gen. Grant, his skilful officers 
and brave men, all belongs." This disregard of self led him to overlook 
those precautions, which his friends desired him to take in order to pre- 
vent attacks from his enemies. On the face of the globe there is no prince 
or potentate whatever, who would so fearlessly expose himself to danger as 
our late President. When the public demanded that he should be attended 
by a body-guard, he submitted for a little while, but soon practically rid 
himself of it by not employing it. 

III. Kindness of heart for the ichole race, conjoined with a forgiving 
disposition to his enemies. The former was seen in his family and social 
relations, and the readiness with which he aided the poor, whether in the 
army or in civil life. When the news of his nomination for the Presidency 
in 1800 reached him, he was with some friends in the office of the State 
Journal in Springfield, — while the cheers of his friends were given with a 
will, he put the telegram in his pocket and quaintly said, "There's a little 
woman down at our house would like to hear this — I'll go down and tell 
her." When Ellsworth, who had been a student in his office, was lying- 
dead — one of the first victims of the war — the President wept over his re- 
mains with bitter grief. I do not wish to lay the scenes of any man's 
family circle open to the public gaze, but this man's gentleness with his 
beloved ones at home, and how he used to read his favorite poet to wife 
and children after the labors of the day were over — these have been told 
me by one who knew the facts, and it is not wrong to state them now. 
With an ear ever open to tales of woe, he was often induced to use execu- 
tive clemency, when a real case for punishment was involved. His mag- 
nanimity disdained to trample on a fallen foe, and with victory, he readily 
forgave those who had been his bitterest enemies. He had no anger for 
the South, no resentment for those who vilified his character, caricatured 
his personal appearance, and poured forth all the foul slanders that the 
father of lies could produce from his own arsenal. Little souls indulge in 
malice and jealousy. This man was above such feelings. In the language 
thai has been attributed to Gen. Lee himself, concerning Mr. Lincoln's 
character — "he was the epitome of magnanimity and good faith." 






11 

IV. Industry and Patient Perseverance. — Much of these was required 
of a man at the helm of state during the tempestuous years through which 
we have just passed. The exhausting character of the labors thai de- 
volved upon the Chief Magistrate of our nation, even when peace reigned 
throughout our borders, was such as to demand a strong constitution and 
a willingness to work possessed hy hut few men. Butwhen the machinery 
of Government was increased in quantity and complexity by the needs and 
requirements of a state of war, then almost superhuman energy, industry 
and perseverance were required to superintend the Avhole so as to obtain 
the maximum of activity with the minimum of friction. Fortunately, with 
the will to work, Mr. Lincoln possessed an iron constitution and indefati- 
gable industry, and no man could have more faithfully labored to do the 
work allotted him. In season and out of season, day and night, he knew 
no rest; there was a great task assigned him and it must not be slighted, 

V. Genial Flow of Spirits. — Amid all this earnestness and honesty, 
and freedom from self and gentleness of soul, he was pre-eminently en- 
dowed with great elasticity of spirit, which enabled him to throw off the 
cares of his station, even when most weighty, and to enjoy the society of 
friends or strangers. It is true his manners were not fashioned after the 
Chesterfieldian School, he was too truthful a representative of nature's no- 
bleman for that; nor was his conversation in imitation of any special mo- 
del of what rhetoricians would consider classic English, he had grown up 
among men whose rugged thoughts and colossal ideas defied expression in 
any of the tawdry refinements of dandified English. He was the type of 
an honest, great soul that disdained the decoration of art, that employed 
words to convey, and not to conceal ideas, and he hesitated not to join in 
the merry laugh or the humorous joke when they might be introduced by 
others. And here a word is necessary as regards his fondness for anec- 
dote. The press very unwisely has created the impression that Mr. Lin- 
coln constantly employed anecdotes in all his conversations and speeches, 
merely as means of provoking laughter, or giving amusement to company. 
Hence, many have hardly understood the real serious side of Mr Lincoln's 
character, and only looked upon him as a man given to continuous joking. 
This was not the case, and great injustice has been done him by such an 
idea. With Mr. Lincoln anecdotes were employed either as means of 
ridding himself of troublesome bores, or in the place of illustrative argu- 
ments. The habit had been acquired in his Western life, and his illustra- 
tions always carried a force with them that few abstract arguments could. 
His freshness of thought and novelty of illustration made his conversation 
acceptable to men who were weary of the set phrases of meaningless con- 
ventionalism. 

VI. Love of Country. — This was all-absorbing. Every faculty of mind, 
all his powers of soul and body were absorbed in this, lie allowed no 
party prejudice to prevent him doing justice to all who seemed actuated 
by a similar feeling. His appointments were frequently made from those 
who had been his bitter political opponents; and no man was thrown 
lightly aside who seemed willing to labor in his country's cause, lie had 
consecrated his time, his talents, his life, his all, to the service of that 
country. Hear him at Independence Hall, Eebruary 22, 1861, and how 
singularly prophetic are his words, when looked at in the light of recent 
events — then happily unknown to him, and unsuspected by the nation: — 



12 

"I have never had a feeling, politically, that did not spring from the sen- 
timents embodied in the Declaration of Independence. 
I have often inquired of myself what great principle or idea it was that 
kept this Confederacy so long together. It was not the mere matter of 
the separation of the Colonies from the mother-land, but something in 
that Declaration giving liberty, not alone to the people of this country, 
but hope for the world for all future time. * * This is 

the sentiment embodied in the Declaration of Independence. Now, my 
friends, can this country be saved upon that basis? If it can, I will con- 
sider myself one of the happiest men in the world, if I can help to save it. 
If it can't be saved upon that principle, it will be truly awful. But ij 
//u's count ry cannot be saved without giving up that principle, I was about 
to say 1 would rather be assassinated cm, this spot than surrender it. * 

I have said nothing but what I am willing to live by, 
and, in the pleasure of Almighty God, die by." Here was the language 
of one who went, with high resolve, and unwavering trust in the mission 
of his country, to undertake whatever tasks might fall to his lot. And, 
if these imperilled his life, he will not shrink from his fate. Like the 
Roman Knight, he will willingly leap into the gulf, if the nation can be 
saved by such a sacrifice. Here is an example for you, my fellow-country- 
men, worthy of all imitation. 

" Let all the ends thou aim'st at be — thy country's, 
Thy God's, and truth's!" 

Standing at the grave of this martyr to the cause of free government, ask 
God to kindle into a bright flame whatever sparks of patriotism may be 
lurking in your breasts — pray that you may be worthy of your birthright 
as citizens of a republic, and that you may be able, whenever restive under 
law and authority, to take to heart these words of inspiration : " Let every 
soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God : 
the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth 
the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall re- 
ceive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, 
but to the evil." 

VII. Faith in God and His protecting Providence. — From the first, 
Mr. Lincoln, in addition to his love of country had a strong and enduring- 
faith that it was designed by Providence to perform a great part in the 
history of humanity, and that God might chasten — how much no man 
could tell — but would bring it out of the fire purer and better fitted for 
its work. In bidding farewell to his friends in Springfield, he said, " A 
duty devolves upon me which is, perhaps, greater than that which has de- 
volved upon any other man since the days of Washington. He never 
could have succeeded except for the aid of Divine Providence, upon which 
he at all times relied. I feel that I cannot succeed without the same Di- 
vine aid which sustained him, and on the same Almighty Being I place 
my reliance for support, and I hope you, my friends, will all pray that I 
may receive that Divine assistance without which I cannot succeed, but 
with which success is certain." This faith kept him firm when the dark- 
est horrors were impending. Reverses, defeats, even utter routs did not 
cause him to waver. The issues of the whole were in the hands of God. 



13 

It was our duty to defend tlie liberties he had given as. There was. at 
times, in this firm faith much that resembled Cromwell's command to his 
men — "Put your faith in God and — keep your powder dry." — that is, 
trust in God, but employ all the means placed within your reach to exe- 
cute the task he has assigned you. Prayers went up for him, not only 
from those old friends in Illinois, but all over the land. We learned to 
love the man whose purpose was so high, and whose claims to our confi- 
dence so justified by his own inherent fitness. Resting on these prayers 
offered up to a prayer-hearing God, he tired not in well-doing, but was 
ready for any sacrifice. This faith is the brightest jewel in the character 
of Abraham Lincoln. Let us all try to cultivate faith in God, who 
has thus far led us on our way amid clouds and perils, through the 
dangers of the field, and the far greater dangers of evil spirits at home, in 
whose breasts the evil One has sown the seeds of disobedience to law. 
Then shall the shining example of our late President not be lost upon 
those who are left behind, and the God of our fathers will be with us 
through whatever dangers may hereafter beset our path. 

I have endeavored, my friends, to present in a brief manner, some idea 
of him who was called in the providence of God to be the foremost man 
of the age. It has been impossible to dwell upon all points of his charac- 
ter, because hours only would suffice for the task. Hence, I have not said 
any thing about those intellectual qualifications which shone so brightly 
when pure statesmanship was required. It has been my endeavor to give 
you an idea of the man — Abraham Lincoln — and those qualities of 
spirit and soul that made him the object of the nation's love. His name 
was a household word at home, and those foreign nations that had once 
held him up to scorn and derision, were now honest in their expressions 
of admiration for the earnest, great man. 

The ship of state had been guided through the storm and tempest in 
safety, and was approaching secure anchorage; the shout, 'land ho!' was 
heard from those on the look-out, when the inhuman assassin does his 
work, and the helms-man is carried away at the moment of triumph. Rest 
on earth from his labors was not granted him; but his spirit is now in 
His presence, who is a righteous God, and one loving mercy, and there, 
in humble submission, bowing our heads low in the dust, we leave it, and 
pray that we may be able to say, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath 
taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." 

His works shall live, and his example must ever be one for imitation by all 
who love their country. Thus, although dead, he will continually be with 
us as a guardian spirit to that country for which he lived, labored and died. 

But, "while love causes us to linger by the remains of Abraham Lin- 
coln, let us not forget the stern duties which his assassination imposes 
upon the nation. These we cannot throw off, even if we shrank from their 
performance. It is not vengeance we counsel, but justice. Look at the 
act, evidently the result of much thought and careful deliberation, coolly 
and skilfully planned, completed under circumstances that made it most 
appalling to the partner of his life, in the midst of an assembly of his 
countrymen intent on pleasure, and exultant at the prospect of peace. See 
the assassin deliberately eyeing his victim, quietly stealing behind him, 
and over the very shoulders of the wife firing the deadly weapon thai for- 
ever should put out the life of the family and the hope of the nation. 



14 

Picture to yourselves the gallant young officer vainly endeavoring to seize 
the murderer so as to secure instant punishment for his diabolical crime, 
forgetting his own wound in his efforts to bring to punishment the assas- 
sin — that piercing cry of the young woman — ' Stop that man — the Presi- 
dent is shot,' — the assassin's leap on the stage, rending his country's flag 
in the effort, the shrieks of horror, and the cries of agony from all present, 
and his cool deliberation in escaping from the hands of those who would 
seize him. Is not the scene one that would make angels weep, and the 
malicious demons of the lower world shout in hellish triumph, that a hu- 
man being had rivalled them in a deed of black malignity and horror ? 

But these are not all the horrors of that night. See an accomplice, 
alike on murderous deed intent, forcing his way into the presence of the 
Secretary of State (stretched on a bed of pain and suffering), and doing 
that which the sentiment of both civilized and savage life pronounces the 
most cowardly of all deeds — striking a man when he is unable to defend 
himself — and dealing serious if not mortal wounds to sons and friends who 
rush to the aid of the defenceless victim. 

In all the annals of crime, even in the times of the French Revolution, 
when horrors accumulated so fast that the very soul sickens at the thought 
of those dark deeds, there has never been more horrible pictures than 
these. Well may the Secretary of War ask that " the stain of innocent 
blood be removed from the land by the arrest and punishment of the mur- 
derers," and exhort "all good citizens to aid public justice on this occa- 
sion. Every man should consider his own conscience charged with this 
solemn duty, and rest neither night nor day until it be accomplished." 

The whole series of crimes, however, demonstrates with almost mathe- 
matical certainty that the direct perpetrators of these have been aided by 
numerous active accomplices. And here the question naturally arises — 
how great the extent of this conspiracy? Has its main object been ac- 
complished, or will blows, secret and cowardly, yet be struck ? Who shall 
be the next victims? What man of prominence or quiet citizen shall 
next be the mark for the assassin's knife, or his deadly pistol? I am not 
an alarmist, but these questions are important; they concern our future 
security. No man can at once become an assassin. The process of de- 
moralization is slow, but sure when once it begins, and in the end the man 
loses all the moral attributes of his race, and becomes a wild animal, sub- 
ject to the influences that regulate and determine the acts of that class of 
beings. The taste of blood once experienced, and all control over the 
animal is gone. He rages and riots in blood. Swift, speedy and terri- 
ble punishment can alone afford security in the future for the nation. 

How many are justly chargeable with a direct agency in producing the 
demoralization that culminated in these crimes we know not; but the hor- 
rible fact stares us in the face that in December, 18G4 — an advertisement 
appeared in the Selma (Ala.) Dispatch, offering for a million of dollars to 
secure the assassination of the President, Vice President and Secretary of 
State, and this advertisement failed to create that horror in the region 
where it appeared, that should have been at once produced. And back of 
tli is — has not every man, woman and child, throughout the length and 
breadth of the land who actively or passirely took part in the rebellion 
against law and authority, either by open participation in the bloody war 
that has been waged against the government, or by secret sympathy with 



15 

the same, has not every such person some responsibility for the demorali- 
zation that terminated in this crime? Does not the blood of the mur- 
dered President cry aloud to each of these — ye had a share in this deed, 
and aided in the crime that now pollutes the annals of our history ? 

"Not all the perfumes of Arabia" will sweeten the land on which this 
innocent blood has been shed. Kepent, ye that have wandered from the 
practices of your forefathers — and have set at defiance the holy teachings 
of the Book of inspiration. It is manly to acknowledge error, it is manly 
to beg forgiveness and to ask God's help, that you may henceforward walk 
as in His sight, pleasing God and obeying the authorities set over you by 
His appointment; it is more than manly to do all this, for thereby you 
join the band of those returning prodigals which a merciful Father will 
receive with a forgiveness freely extended for their sins, for the sake of 
Him who died that penitent sinners might live, and who said to the male- 
factor on the cross, "To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise." 

One word as to the duty of good citizens in this perilous crisis. If ever 
there was a time when faith in God's divine protection was needed it is 
now. In Him alone can there be found protection and defence, and He 
has taught His people to come to Him at all times with their sorrowful 
burdens. Prayer, for guidance to our rulers, prudence in the hour of 
trouble, strength to bear our afflictions, wisdom to direct the machinery 
of government, justice to punish malefactors, mercy to pardon mine 
fenders who are penitent, and patriotic love for our dear country, — prayer 
for these is now a duty which is not to be neglected by any Christian. 

We cannot afford to do wrong in the name of right and justice. These 
need no such adjuncts. Let the sentence, which Congress has ordered 
henceforth to be stamped upon all our national coins, be indelibly im- 
pressed upon our hearts — "in God is our trust." 

Let the closing words of the late President's last Inaugural be taken to 
heart and appropriated by all : 

"With malice toward none, with charity for all. with firmness in the 
right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work 
we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds ; to care for him who shall have 
borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphans; to do all that may 
achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all 
nations." 

And now, my friends, in closing this tribute to the memory of President 
Lincoln, and this sketch of the lessons taught us by his life, with the 
obligations imposed by his death, need I add one word of apology because 
it has been given you in the house of God and on His holy day. The 
lesson of the times has been presented for our perusal by the Father Him- 
self. I have endeavored to spread it before you, as a Christian man 
would to his brethren, in the spirit of Him, who, although He forgave 1 1 is 
persecutors, foretold the day when the wicked should be banished "to 
eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." Justice is temp red 
with mercy to those who repent from their sins,— but to the impenitent 
justice in all its naked terror shall be meted out, 

May God grant us all grace to perform the duties assigned in here, to 
serve Him in truth, and to cherish a love for that country where freedom 
reigns and a refuge is afforded to the oppressed and persecuted of the 
earth ! 



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